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Thursday, June 20, 2013

What goes around…

Twenty odd years ago, when I was thick with Peninsula merchants,
we invented Python Days. Peninsula’s
python has a long history, and we helped revive it. A Cleveland reporter, on a slow news day in
the depths of World War II, thought he’d lighten spirits a bit by enhancing on
local folklore he overheard, probably at the Peninsula Nite Club. The python became legend, as much as a small town python can become legend.

I remember writing the press releases promoting Peninsula’s
python. Our efforts sputtered and fizzed
along for a few years, and almost passed into history, until Harry Potter days
arrived in town. You recall the frenzy around
the release of the last book. Peninsula
had, at the time, an independent book store, and the owner, together with the
other merchants in the Peninsula Chamber, held a two week-end
extravaganza. If you were a parent or
child, what excitement. If you weren't,
detour town.

Town merchants, being in business to make money, reserved
that weekend for the revival of Peninsula’s own python, intending to build on
the crowds that came for Harry Potter. I doubt the street closing crowds of
Harry Potter days have recurred since, but the streets are closed and there is
a parade, and games, and contests all over town. Peninsula Python Day!

All that lead up to leaving for the library and work this
morning. I thought Emily was bringing
her guitar for this morning’s Kid Wrangler activities. Instead she brought her brother.

Around the supper table we got the rest of the story. Hamilton was brought along to be introduced
to Sue, the coordinator of kid games for Python Days on July 20th. On her first day as Kid Wrangler Emily was
asked to help with Python Days. When she
realized the scope of the activity she decided a Kid Wrangler assistant would
be very useful, and brought Hamilton along to have judgment passed. Her plan worked out as she intended; Hamilton
has been asked to be Kid Wrangler Assistant.

I hope you stopped to read something about the Peninsula
Python. Way back when we revived it we asked Honore Guilbeau, a Peninsula artist
whose name some may recognize, to design a logo. You can see it back there on the Python Day
website. Ms. Gilbeau also designed the
front of the Peninsula Library, seen in today’s picture. The façade
depicts both the Cuyahoga (Crooked, in original Native American) River and life
in the valley.

We made banners featuring the logo, way back when, and participating
merchants hung them outside stores. I’ll find ours
and hang it up on Python Day. It’s one
of only two remaining, and I won’t part with it. The library has the other banner.

Summertime reading was always a big thing when I was a kid... looks like your library makes it a big thing there. I think I'd have fun at Python days... I kinda like that big snake at the end of that website.

See the loops in the fresco on the library. The Cuyahoga River actual looks like that, going through the valley. Peninsula is built on one of the "peninsulas".When there are only 600 people in a town it doesn't take many to stir things up. I was just one of the original fifteen or so merchants who brainstormed ways to bring people to town to spend money.

Dear Joanne, the logo is intriguing. Isn't there something in some mythology about a snake eating its tail and consuming itself? Doesn't that mean something?

And the python float just made me chortle. So inventive with those eyes. I clicked on the library photo and could see the river winding like a python. I'm a big Harry Potter fan, having read all the books each about five times, viewed the movies many times, and listened to each book on tape at least three times. And that snake that Rowling gave us--which carried within the darkness of Valdemort--was truly terrifying. The movies captured that. Peace.

I thought I was the consummate Potterite, but Emily has us beat hands down. She can tell you what page number to look up!I think I'll do more on the python and Honore's work. I did research the bejammers out of the python all those years ago, to write press releases.